Oranje squash Brazil

– Dutch come flying back to oust favourites

PORT ELIZABETH, (Reuters) – Netherlands scored two  second-half goals from out of the blue to stun five-times  champions Brazil 2-1 yesterday and march into the semi-finals of  the World Cup.

The Dutchmen sent their strongly favoured opponents packing  after unleashing a scintillating second half sucker-punch that  saw Brazil crumble having produced a dazzling display of soccer  in a match they had looked set to win.

Midfielder Wesley Sneijder was the man of the moment for  Netherlands, heading home the winner on 68 minutes and driving a  goal-bound cross eight minutes after the break that was steered  into his own net by Felipe Melo.

“It’s fantastic, we are in the last four in the World Cup —  we beat Brazil,” an ecstatic Sneijder said.

“You have to be happy with that. If you eliminate Brazil, one  of the biggest, best teams of this championship, the feeling is  relief.”

Brazil at times played smooth, breathtaking soccer, with  Robinho and Kaka creating chances from nothing with silky  footwork and neat breaks that had the Dutch running around in  circles and staring at defeat. Robinho had an early goal disallowed for offside but got  Brazil off the mark on 10 minutes when he latched on to a  pinpoint 30-metre through ball from Felipe Melo to beat the  onrushing keeper from inside the area.

BRAZIL SUBSIDE

Netherlands opted for tough and untimely tackles to try to  disrupt Brazil’s rhythm and nearly conceded a second on the half  hour mark when Kaka unleashed a sumptuous strike that was  acrobatically turned away by Maarten Stelkelenburg.

But the Brazilian onslaught subsided after the break when  the Dutch emerged like a completely different team, with Arjen  Robben in the thick of all the action, linking up well with  Sneijder, and Dirk Kuyt always troubling the defence.

Netherlands levelled on 53 minutes after a rare mistake from  Brazil’s usually impenetrable defence. Sneijder drove in a  weighted cross which keeper Julio Cesar missed completely before  it hit the head of Felipe Melo and ended up in the net.

The goal was a killer blow for Brazil, who were wound up by  their opponents’ physical approach and fell to pieces before  Sneijder popped up to head home after Kuyt flicked on Robben’s  68th-minute corner.

Tempers flared throughout the match and Felipe Melo was  given his marching orders 17 minutes from time after stamping on  Robben, venting his frustrations at the Dutch striker’s ease in  tumbling to the ground under challenges.

Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk praised his players’ resolve  and reiterated his belief that his team were genuine candidates  to lift the World Cup. “Two years ago I said we have a mission to come here to  become world champion. You have to believe in something  completely,” he said.

“I think you could see all that we have. For 45 minutes we  went full throttle and we were rewarded for it.”

Brazil coach Dunga, whose angry antics in the dugout had  been as entertaining as his team’s play, admitted he was taken  aback by the defeat.

“We are all extremely sad and we didn’t expect it,” said Dunga, who made it clear the match was his last game in charge.

“We were not able to maintain the same rhythm in the second half. I feel very proud to have been at front of these players and of the dignity the Brazilian team has always shown.”